Rework rules to aid college students and athletes

In any one academic year, more than 500 Division I student-athletes participate in 10 men's and 11 women's sports at Monmouth University. Their participation enriches their college experience on several levels, just as it enhances the experience for the entire campus community. Monmouth University would be a lesser place were it not for what the Hawks, win or lose, bring to the school.

Unfortunately, the proposal recently ratified by the 18 members of the Division I board of directors will not serve our athletes or our community very well. The proposed reforms will take us down a slippery slope in the wrong direction, not just for our student-athletes, but for all our students.

I understand the context for all this. The 65 schools representing the Big Five conferences want autonomy from the other NCAA Division I schools like Monmouth University so they can decide for themselves what's best for their student-athletes. After all, their world is far different from ours, replete with complex issues surrounding full scholarships, deferred compensation, or when a student-athlete can begin talking to a professional agent.

But make no mistake, the proposed reforms are but the onset of a broader transformation, the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. They likely will propel and accelerate changes that will inevitably continue to blur the lines between major college athletics and professional sports. The commercialization of college athletes will reach dimensions that will be difficult to contemplate.

All that said, I intend to support the proposal, and in fact, I applaud the Big Five conferences for forging the path that they have chosen and for pursuing legislation that attempts to address some of the complexities driven by big-time college sports, especially football. I agree that their divergent situation and interests call for different rules.

So it is time that we acknowledge as much. The demands and priorities of major universities today are not aligned with the hundreds of other NCAA members whose focus is on providing a well-rounded college experience.

The tremendous growth of major college athletics has created an unwieldy behemoth, a five-headed monster that cannot, for all practical purposes, be reduced in size or influence. The 65 schools that make up the Big Five conferences (plus a few more "wannabes") have sports programs that drive so much revenue, alumni/community interest, marketing, and branding assets that their economic realities place them and their student-athletes in a very different place from the rest of us who compete at the Division I level. Bringing it all in line will require devising and implementing a set of rules that apply specifically and exclusively to the major players. The proposed reforms are the first step in that direction.

But why stop there? While the proposed new rules and the trajectory that they set are not right for Monmouth University - nor for the members of the 22 other conferences that make up the majority of Division I institutions - the rest of us must determine what is right for us. That is why I am advocating that we follow the lead of the Big Five conferences to set our own path, to devise rules and a direction that befit all of our students, including our student-athletes.

Just as we acknowledge that the world of big-time college athletics does not apply to us, we must also recognize that our own needs and priorities are different as well. As we continue to commit to providing opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the Division I level, we must put in place our own set of regulations that help to ensure that all Division I institutions are able to create well-rounded college experiences that address the varied interests of our student bodies.

As the realignment of the NCAA moves to regulate the inevitable march toward professionalism in college sports, let's ensure that the association of which schools like Monmouth University are proud members continues to serve the institutions that embrace the spirit of intercollegiate athletics that has been its tradition.